84 
TRANSACTIONS OF THE TEXAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 
According as is felt the march of progress under the influence of mod- 
em machinery and methods, will the intelligence of the masses advance, 
and perhaps closer relations will lead us to learn more of this remark- 
able republic, wonderfully rich in natural resources and full of objects 
of intense interest to him who penetrates even a little way into its 
confines. 
A New Suggestion Concerning the Transmutation of Matter. By H. W. 
Harper. Read before the Texas Acaderpy of Science, March 5, 1897; 
postponed from the December meeting. 
[Note. — Except where specified, the following is copied verbatim from 
the author’s paper.] 
Passing from the absolute to the relative is virtually passing from the 
unknown to the known and knowable; or, if you please, from the simple 
to the complex. 
Arrived at concrete matter, i. e., matter as we know it, and motion, as 
made known to us, are at once interdependent, inseparable, and complex; 
and all that is vouchsafed to us is the study of relations, phases, changes; 
and in this work the science of chemistry has done and is doing her part. 
Among her various contributions to the world’s store of knowledge will 
be found numerous attempts to solve the insolvable riddle concerning the 
two constants in which the phenomena of the universe probably have their 
fundamental mechanism; and out of these efforts has developed a belief 
in the transmutability of matter. 
It is not my purpose to-day to discuss the history of the growth of this 
belief, nor to outline the many standpoints from which the problem has 
been attacked; but rather is it my design to point out a new line of re- 
search, which, whether it leads to the ultimate goal or not, will at least 
bring to us additional knowledge, of the most startling nature, concerning 
the properties of matter. 
In brief, my opinion concerning the properties of matter is conveyed 
by a modified expression of the “ Periodic Law.” This law states: “That 
the properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic 
weights.” I would modify the statement to read as follows: 
The properties of matter are periodic functions of the atomic and molecu- 
lar masses which constitute it and the rates of motion of these masses. 
Any change in the atomic and molecular masses gives rise to a change 
of properties — likewise, any change in the rate of motion of and within 
these masses gives rise to a change of properties. The control of these two 
